Then came the first new play of the day. At the signal the whole right end of the Fardale team seemed to melt and vanish, but the line went across like a flash, and reenforced the left wing, Douglass backing Blair, Stanton behind Gordan, and Burrows supporting Buckhart. Close behind this mass was Kent, with the ball, guarded by Nunn and Shannock on one side and Kane and Singleton on the other.
Before Hudsonville could mass to resist this attack, Fardale had swung her right end backward and round for a gain of full twelve yards.
How the watchers cheered! This was what they desired, and they were delighted.
A repetition of this play, with the left end backing the right, netted seven yards more, and Fardale’s colors were waving joyously.
"There is some of the work Merriwell has been drilling them on," said Tod Hubbard. "It’s proving good, too."
"But it’s dead simple," said Lynch, with curling lip. "Anybody could have devised that kind of a play, and it will prove bad for Fardale before we are through with this game. Wait till Hudsonville gets onto it for fair, and then see what those chaps do to the line-over trick."
It was some time, however, before Hudsonville seemed prepared to meet the new line-over formation, but the visitors finally found a method of breaking up the interference and getting to the man with the ball, so that the effectiveness of the play was ended. By this time, however, the first half was nearly finished, and neither team had scored.
Fardale was doing better than had been anticipated, although she seemed unable to threaten the enemy’s goal.
Realizing that the first half was drawing to a close, Hudsonville hammered into Fardale in a deadly manner. Douglass had been doing great work in defense, and he was spotted by Glennon. At the end of a furious scrimmage Hugh was found stretched senseless on the ground. Glennon had been able to get in his work at putting a dangerous man out of the game.
Somehow, it seemed that Fardale became alarmed, for Hudsonville carried the ball to within twenty yards of the home team’s goal. There, however, the spirit of the cadets revived again, and the advance was checked.